Late-game failings negating home-court advantage for Nuggets

Westbrook's game-winner punctuated final home meltdown of season

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, right, goes up for a shot against Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris during the first half on Sunday in Denver. (Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

Shaun Livingston broke last week with the long-standing sports tradition of pretending he didn't care who his team faced in the playoffs.

When the guard for the top-seeded Warriors was asked by reporters which team he'd like to see grab the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff field, he didn't hesitate.

"Probably Portland, just because nobody wants to play in the mountains," Livingston said. "I hate playing there, man."

Livingston got his wish in large part because the Nuggets were unable to take advantage of the home-court edge that teams used to fear. Instead they often looked like the team that was experiencing the dragging effect of altitude when the game was on the line instead of their opponent.

This is nothing new. The Nuggets, who finished 22-19 at the Pepsi Center this season, are a combined two games under .500 at home the past four seasons. That stretch followed the 2012-13 season when the Nuggets lost just three home games in coach George Karl's final season.

This season's failings at home were especially damaging given the Nuggets had a chance to make the playoffs for the first time in four years. Russell Westbrook's 36-foot game-winner that eliminated Denver from playoff contention Sunday punctuated the final late-game meltdown at home in a season-long series of them.

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"Down the stretch, lack of poise, lack of execution," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Denver blew a seven-point lead in the final minute Sunday. "Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. That's been an issue for us, obviously, most of the year. That's going to require a lot more poise and handling adversity."

Poor defense was the glaring weakness. The Nuggets will likely finish the season with a defensive rating that ranks last or second-to-last. Westbrook scored 11 points in the final two minutes Sunday.

Perhaps more perplexing has been the Nuggets' inability to dam the floods with their own timely buckets. Denver scored only 14 points in the fourth quarter Sunday and had only one field goal in the final 3½ minutes. The Nuggets have the fourth-best offensive rating in the NBA (110.1), but in "clutch" situations — a period defined by games that are within five points with five minutes or less remaining — they rank 25th (99.4).

Many of the lowlights have occurred at home, where the Nuggets were 2-7 in games decided by five points or fewer. It started with the home opener against Portland on Oct. 29, when the Nuggets went the final three minutes without a field goal, surrendered an eight-point lead in the final minute and lost in overtime. The Nuggets went the final 2½ minutes without a field goal against the Hawks at home Dec. 23, losing a seven-point lead with 1:38 left. Then there was Sunday. A score on any of the Nuggets' last four possessions would have likely provided the cushion needed to hang on and keep their postseason hopes alive.

Instead: Turnover. Missed 3-pointer. Turnover. Missed running jumper.

"Maybe we were nervous," said Nikola Jokic, who missed the two shots late. "I don't know. They were aggressive. We missed a couple open shots, a couple layups. Tough game, tough loss."

Notes

Nuggets: Guard Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle) and forward Kenneth Faried (back) are listed as questionable for tonight's game against Dallas. Point guard Jameer Nelson (calf) will not play. ... Mudiay, who played high school basketball in the Dallas area, has averaged 13.8 points, six assists and four rebounds while shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range in six career games played in his hometown. ... The Nuggets have limited the Mavericks to an average of 102 points in three games (2-1), their second-lowest point average of any opponent.

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